Sheffield United‘s manager, Paul Heckingbottom, has been fired, with Chris Wilder expected to take his place.
Heckingbottom’s two-year stint as manager came to an end on Monday morning, following the 5-0 defeat against Burnley on Saturday.
Former United manager Chris Wilder is anticipated to be named as his replacement and will make an emotional return to Bramall Lane.
United sit at the bottom of the league after 11 losses in 14 games and met with Heckingbottom on Monday.
He is the first manager in the Premier League to be fired this season; prior to December, Scott Parker (Bournemouth), Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea), Bruno Lage (Wolves), and Steven Gerrard (Aston Villa) had all been fired.
The club, which finished second in the championship last season, has come under fire for its summer transfer plan, which culminated in the departure of important players Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge.
Heckingbottom expressed his disappointment at being unable to keep his squad together following the crushing defeat at Turf Moor. Fans also chanted “Hecky out” near the end of the thrashing.
“I wanted to keep the group together, but we couldn’t,” he told reporters. “We couldn’t because of the last few years and the financial implications.
“If we’d tied them down [on longer contracts], then we probably wouldn’t have sold those players.
“There wasn’t a desire from the owner to sell, but a necessity from a business point of view. We’ve been making financial decisions rather than football decisions.
“Of course, that affects me. I didn’t want it to happen.”
Wilder, who led United to promotion from League One and the Championship, will take over for Heckingbottom.
Wilder, a former player with the club, left the club by mutual consent in March 2021 after nearly five years in command.
He was most recently with Watford, where he spent only two months before leaving at the end of last season.
